One of the most brilliant footballers of the modern era in Patrick Vieira, has declared that Manchester City are on track to become one of the biggest clubs in world football.
Having brought an end to his professional playing career at City just last week, Vieira has taken up a coaching role at the club, and is excited by the prospect of being involved in the project taking place at Eastlands.
And the Frenchman has many reasons to be excited about what lies ahead for the blue half of Manchester. After securing Champions League football and winning the FA Cup, this season could finally see the emergence of City domestically, potentially becoming the new English champions.
Quality
When Sheikh Mansour took over Manchester City in 2008, the club ha…
Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk do battle in the UEFA Champions League having made bright starts to their league campaigns.
Europa League and Liga Sagres champions Porto have a 100 percent record in the league after winning four from four, netting 12 goals and conceding just three.
Star striker Hulk and Colombian James Rodriguez have both scored three times, with the latter filling the void left by the departure of Radamel Falcao to Atletico Madrid.
Shakhtar Donetsk have been just as impressive in the Ukrainian Premier League, recording seven wins and two draws in nine outings.
That includes scoring 24 times and conceding just six in a bright start to their title defence.
Porto coach Vitor Pereira, who took over after the departure of Andre Villas-Boa…
Republic of Ireland duo James McCarthy and Aiden McGeady can expect a hostile reception in Friday s Euro 2016 qualifier against Scotland.
The Everton pair were born in Scotland but opted to play for Ireland and the Celtic Park crowd are likely to make their feelings on the matter abundantly clear.
It is an issue that has roused heated debate, with Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given leaping to the defence of his under-fire team-mates after former Scotland international Gordon McQueen encouraged supporters to make McCarthy and McGeady feel as unwelcome as possible.
The comments were a bit unfair, said Given.
Some of the Scottish players were born in England but have Scottish parents. It can t be one rule for Ireland and one rule for others. They are in the exa…
Carlo Ancelotti is focused on Real Madrid beating Basel on Wednesday rather than equalling a club record in the UEFA Champions League.
Under the Italian Real have won their last 14 matches in the competition and if they win in Switzerland it would match the run achieved in 1960-61 and 2011-12.
However, the head coach is more concerned about securing top spot in Group B.
The most important thing is to play well, he said. The team have reached this level because we have prepared well.
We re not thinking too much about the records, but they are important to the club s history. It can only be achieved by doing things right, as we are doing.
The match will be interesting, as all are in the Champions League. We will try to secure first place, bu…
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte believes his side remain the team to beat ahead of the start of the 2017-18 Premier League season.
The Blues claimed a second title in three years in Conte s first season in charge, finishing seven points clear of Tottenham after winning 30 of their 38 matches.
Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City in particular have invested heavily in their squads ahead of what promises to be a fiercely contested title race next term.
But although he has warned his players against becoming complacent, Conte feels they deserve to start the season as favourites.
For sure; we won the Premier League title last season, he told a news conference. This season will be tough. You know what has been happening in England. Chelsea won i…
Teenage attacker Martin Odegaard has confirmed he has signed a new deal with LaLiga champions Real Madrid.
Odegaard was thrust into the spotlight when he moved to Madrid as a 16-year-old in January 2015, but he has since made just one league appearance for Zinedine Zidane s side.
However, the Champions League winners appear to have kept faith in the Norwegian s talent by handing him an extension beyond the end of the season.
The new deal reportedly ties Odegaard to Madrid until the end of the 2020-21 campaign, although the nine-time international was hesitant to reveal the length of the contract.
A little more than 2018 at least, he told Norwegian publication VG Sporten of the extension.
I do not want to say much more at the moment.
Football can be cruel; we know that. But it seems especially mean to Alvaro Morata.
The man who was booed by his own fans, who dragged Spain through against Croatia, was finally dropped for the Euro 2020 semi-final against Italy. A purely tactical choice, but one perhaps at odds with Luis Enrique s hot-blooded defiance towards the naysayers who wanted Morata out of the team.
How amazing it was to see Morata then come off the bench and equalise with 10 minutes to go, bellow a quick Vamos! into the camera and get the ball back to the centre-circle. And how inevitable it felt when his tame penalty was saved, as Spain s draining campaign ended at last in another shoot-out.
Morata should not be blamed, though. Rather, Spain s failings in attack have been prevalent thr…
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer expects Paul Pogba to stay at Manchester United next season despite speculation increasing over a possible move to Real Madrid.
Reports linking the World Cup winner to LaLiga giants Madrid have ramped up amid United s poor run of results, which have seriously damaged the club s hopes of securing Champions League qualification.
Solskjaer s side have lost seven of their past nine matches in all competitions, lending weight to the view that a struggling squad must be overhauled in the next transfer window.
The potential sale of Pogba, signed from Juventus for £89million in 2016, could fund several new additions but the Red Devils manager is confident his star asset will stay at Old Trafford.
You can t guarantee anything …
As the players representing Italy and England prepared to step out onto the pitch to do battle for the European crown on Sunday evening, a different kind of battle, a most undesirable one, was unfolding in and around the Wembley Stadium. Heavily outnumbered and underequipped stewards failed to prevent a mob of people calling themselves supporters from breaking in without tickets or any kind of security checks.
UEFA has already fined England for a laser pen that was pointed at the face of Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel in their semifinal clash, and it s expected they ll hear more from the European football governing body for this.
Quite apart from that, the chances of England being chosen to host the 2030 World Cup have severely diminished.
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The United States missed the chance to reinforce their lead at the top of the CONCACAF 2022 World Cup qualifying standings after a 1-1 draw away to Jamaica on Tuesday.
West Ham s Michail Antonio equalised in stunning fashion for Jamaica midway through the first half after Timothy Weah s 11th-minute opener in Kingston.
USA remain top with 15 points from eight games, moving one point clear of Mexico, who play rivals Canada away later on Tuesday, as Jamaica climbed to fifth with seven points.
Lille forward Weah had surged into the left of the box, before firing home the opening goal in off the post from a tight angle.
FULL TIME:
JAM 1 1 USA 1
We take a point away.
— U.S. Soccer MNT (@USMNT)
Antonio netted his second goa…